Ab Initio

Ab Initio International is an on-line publication for professionals working with infants and families, which is published by the Brazelton Institute in the Division of Developmental Medicine at the Children’s Hospital, Boston. It was first published by Kevin Nugent in 1989 and he has been the editor since then. The mission of Ab Initio Internationalis to provide scientific and scholarly presentations on cutting edge issues and concepts in the field of parent-infant development. The audience for this on-line journal is primarily scholars and practitioners from fields such as psychology, pediatrics, parent-infant mental health, neonatology, nursing, sociology, physical and occupational therapy, education, social work, and anthropology. We present innovative studies that focus on social, cognitive, educational, emotional, biological, and socio-cultural issues of infants and parents, so that research that bridges these areas is especially valued, as well as papers that focus or deal with under-represented groups.

Austen Riggs Centre sponsors NBO Training

As part of The Human Development Strategic Initiative, over thirty practitioners participated in NBO training at the Austen Riggs Center on April 8th and 9th, 2017. J. Kevin Nugent joined Riggs’ staff member, Claudia Gold, in providing the NBO training.

NBO Training in Shanghai

Pediatricians, nurses and midwives - predominantly from Shanghai but from other parts of China also - attended the training at Pudong Health Care Hospital for Women and Children. While 18 trainees participated in the NBO session, five trainees took part in the NBAS session.

NBO Training in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Nagoya

NBO training, hosted by Joyce MOK and the Hong Kong Association for Infant Mental Health was presented in Hong Kong in September, 2016. NBO training was also conducted in Tokyo and Nagoya. Two new NBO trainers Mariko Iwayama and Eiko Saito were installed as NBO trainers. In all three settings, Campbell Paul and Kevin Nugent were the trainers. Professor Shohei Ohgi, the Director of NBAS and NBO training in Japan hosted the NBO training.

World Association for Infant Mental Health Congress, Prague

Dr. Nugent delivered a Master Lecture at the World Association for Infant Mental Health Congress, Prague on June 1st, 2016.

25th Nordic Infant Mental Health Meeting (NFSU)

Dr. Kevin Nugent gave the keynote address at the 25th annual NFSU meeting in Olso, March 10th, 2016.

Dr. Nugent speaks in the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament)

Dr. Nugent was invited to speak to the Joint Committee on Health and Children, Houses of the Oireachtas, Leinster House, Dublin 2, on November 12, 2015

NBO Training in Bern, Switzerland

Drs. Nugent and Slinning presented NBO training at the Univeristy of Bern on Nov 19-20th. The training included nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, physiotherapists and infant specialists from all over Switzerland and was organized by Professor Eva Cignacco Mülller and Natascha Schütz Hämmerli.

Professor Nugent gave the keynote address at Psychological Society of Ireland Annual Meeting in Galway, November 13th, 2013. He also presented a workshop on the NBO to members of the Irish Infant Mental Health Association and the Psychology Society of Ireland in Dublin on November 16th, 2015.

Professor Nugent was awarded the 2015 Presidential Citation from the Psychological Society of Ireland by Dr. Paul D’Alton, President of the PSI. The citation read:
“In recognition and deep appreciation for your significant contribution to infant mental health and the resulting betterment of the human project”.

Summer 2015: NBO Training in Australia & Salish & Kootenai tribes in the US and US

Dr. Susan Nicolson conducted NBO training with Aboriginal workers in Northern Victoria, Australia. Dr. Constance Keefer and Dr. Yvette Blanchard conducted NBO training with the Salish & Kootenai tribes in Montana in the United States. NBO training also took place in Boston, Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin in Fall 2015.

NBO Training in Johannesburg, South Africa,

The first NBO training to take place in Africa, took place at the Ububele Parent Infant Programme in Johannesburg, South Africa, on May 11-12th, 2015. Ububele is an educational and psychotherapy trust providing training and services to improve the emotional development of children under 7 years.

NBO presentation at the 2015 Biannual Society for Research in Child Development Meeting

Dr. Jessica Dym-Bartlett and J. Kevin Nugent presented: A Randomized Study of the Effects of a Short-Term Strengths-Based Newborn Intervention on Mother-Infant Interaction at the SRCD meeting in Philadelphia.

An international conference presented by Professor Gherardo Rapisardi, NBAS trainer for Italy, took place in Rome on March 13-14th, 2015. The conference was attended by 700-800 professionals from all over Italy. The title was: “Mi fido di te – I TRUST YOU! ” – A tribute to T. Berry Brazelton. See International section for details.

UK Trainers Meeting, University of Cambridge, Jan 2015

The Møller Centre, Churchill College at the University of Cambridge was the setting for a special meeting of UK NBO trainers which took place on 29th – 31st January, 2015. See international Section.

NBO Training at UC Davis Infant-Parent Mental Health Fellowship

NBO Training for the new UC Davis Infant-Parent Mental Health Fellowship program, under Dr. Kristi Brandt's direction, took place on March 29th at Napa. Drs. Keefer and Nugent presented the training, which was attended by a range of professionals from across California and other parts of the country.

Successful NBO training in Belo Horizonte, Brazil

The first NBO Training to take place in Brazil was presented at the Department of Pediatrics, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte on March 27-28th, 2015. It was an extremely successful learning experience for participants. The trainers were Drs. Lise Johnson and Beth McManus, while the facilitators were Prof. Claudia Regina Lindgren Alves, MD, PhD and Profa. Titular Lívia C.Magalhães.

NBO Training in Thisted, North Jutland, Denmark.

The first NBO training program in Denmark was conducted in Thisted in North Jutland by NBO Trainers Jeanette Appleton and Inge Nickell (UK) on October 1st-2nd., 2014. The training was convened by Merethe Vinter.

NBO Certification in Norway

Twenty-five NBO trainees received their certificates from NBO Trainers Drs. Kari Slinning and Nancy Moss at a meeting in Lillehammer in November, 2014.